Savanah Retreat, Latur(Conceptual)

The project is envisioned as a seamless integration of architecture, landscape, and experience, where built forms remain open, grounded, and deeply connected to their tropical context. The east–west oriented massive plinth follows a ranch-style wide-open layout with a simple balancing form and an honest material palette, easing movement toward the ground line. The partially erected structural system and the abnormally raised 2.5-meter plinth were considered as strengths to optimize the project budget, resulting in three long, usable spaces connected as a rectangular band. Within this band, three sizeable courtyards are carved out and aligned along a triangular axis, allowing long wide-open spaces, balconies, decks, and courtyards to create a smooth and continuous flow between indoor and outdoor spaces with no apparent threshold. A defining long, low-pitch roofline with cross-gabled ends and deep overhanging gutters characterizes the built form, while strategic tree plantation and landscape seamlessly flow from unbuilt to built spaces, reinforcing the tropical setting.

The Administration building along with the food court is envisioned as a flagship gateway and experience center for the resort. Designed as a cluster of studio blocks visually separated from the massive food court, the double-storey composition is connected by a viewing deck that frames the animated activities of the resort. The rectangular blocks are surrounded by a water trench symbolically connected to the lake, creating a sense of suspension. A timeless gable-end roof, raw material palette, and green ivy-covered walls respond to the tropical context and aim to establish a welcoming and retreat-oriented office architecture.

The stay units are conceived as “The Tale of Three Sisters,” three closely knit yet distinct components differing in anatomy, character, and spatial approach. The elder unit adopts a composite structural system with a steel fabricated skeleton and partial stone masonry, planned as an open, partitionless layout connecting indoor living and kitchen spaces to outdoor greens, private pools, and balconies that double as observation decks facing the lake. The second unit is designed as an upsized family stay with front and back gardens, a simple raw material palette, and a low-pitch alternate sloping roof creating opportunities for spatial detail. The youngest unit is a compact, minimalist stay for a couple, emphasizing natural light and ventilation through an open layout that expands toward a central green court, with a sit-out as a threshold and a simple one-side sloping roof.

The clubhouse, inspired by traditional Koothambalam architecture, is the most active and dynamic space in the complex. The structure is descended 1.5 meters below ground level as an earth-coupled passive design strategy. The absence of walls and a raised roof allow maximum airflow, creating natural cooling suited to the hot and dry climate. Oriented as a gateway to the stay, the roof meets the ground on the east and west to form a stepped amphitheater facing the green lawns, serving as a social, cultural, and festive gathering space within the resort.